This application claims the priority of Application No. 101 26 195.0 21, filed May 30, 2001, in Germany, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a front-hood arrangement for a passenger vehicle. Preferred embodiments of the invention relate to a front lid or hood arrangement for a passenger vehicle, having a downwardly facing, lateral separating gap, between the front hood and a mudguard, the front hood having an internal inner hood and an external outer hood, the front hood having at least one stiffening zone which is supported directly or indirectly on a lateral supporting element of a vehicle body when the front hood is closed, the outer hood having a lateral border region, an end edge of which is adjacent to the separating gap, at least one connecting web being provided via which the stiffening zone is connected to the border region of the outer hood.
German Patent Document DE 198 46 192 A1 discloses a front-hood arrangement of the type mentioned above which has a downwardly facing, lateral separating gap between the front hood and the mudguard. In this case, the front hood has an internal inner hood and an external outer hood, an energy-absorbing intermediate layer being arranged between the inner hood and outer hood. In a lateral border region adjacent to the separating gap, the inner hood has a stiffening zone which is supported directly on a lateral supporting element of the vehicle body when the front hood is closed. The outer hood is supported by the inner hood and has a lateral border region, the end edge of which is adjacent to the separating gap. The border region of the inner hood has a connecting web via which the stiffening zone is connected to the border region of the outer hood, namely to its end edge.
By means of this construction of the front-hood arrangement, firstly a relatively high stability of the hood and secondly a relatively easy, energy-absorbing deformation of the hood when a pedestrian impacts against it can be achieved. In this case, the downwardly drawn border regions bring about high supporting stability while the central hood region can be kept relatively flat and in a manner such that it can undergo energy-absorbing deformation. This enables a risk of injury when a pedestrian impacts on it to be reduced.
German Patent Document DE 27 11 339 A1 discloses a further front-hood arrangement for a passenger vehicle, which is likewise concerned with the problem of reducing injuries to pedestrians when they impact against the front hood. For this purpose, the front hood is designed to be flexible in the vertical direction. In this connection, in order to obtain sufficient vertical flexibility, use is made of the effect that any front hood which is curved in cross section has a tendency to expand laterally under vertically acting forces. In order to use this effect to increase the vertical flexibility, it is proposed to remove the lateral end regions of the front hood from the supporting region of the adjacent vehicle-body parts, in order thereby to provide a further deformation path for the hood. In the lateral border region of the front hood, a reinforcing plate which forms an outwardly inclined guide contour is arranged on the inside of the hood. The reinforcing plate and the front hood rest at their lower end on a flexible rubber profile, the upper side of which has an outwardly inclined surface. If, in the case of an accident, a force is exerted on the hood from above, the inclined guide contour of the reinforcing plate can be brought to interact with the oblique surface of the rubber profile, as a result of which the border region of the hood is spread apart and attains an additional deformation path.
The present invention is concerned with the problem of specifying, for a front-hood arrangement of the type mentioned at the beginning, an embodiment in which the expansion of the front hood is improved, in order thus to increase the damping effect when a pedestrian impacts against it.
This problem is solved according to the invention by a front-hood arrangement of the above-mentioned type, wherein when the front hood is closed, the stiffening zone is supported laterally outwards on stop means which are fastened to the supporting element of the vehicle body. In the invention, when the front hood is closed, the stiffening zone is supported laterally outwards on stop means, the stop means being fastened to the supporting element of the vehicle body. This manner of construction gives rise, when a force acts from above, inevitably to a deformation in the border region of the inner hood, as a result of which the border region of the outer hood is inevitably expanded outwards because of the selected coupling between the inner hood and outer hood. All in all, the arrangement according to the invention gives rise to increased safety by the fact that the border regions of the outer hood expand, when a pedestrian impacts against them, with the consequence that an increased deformation and damping path in the vertical direction can be ensured with great reliability.
In one development of certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the at least one connecting web can be connected to the border region of the outer hood at a connection point which is remote from the separating gap, the stop means being arranged on a side of a vertical plane running in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle and through this connection point, which side faces away from the end edge of the border region of the outer hood, the at least one connecting web also having a predetermined breaking point in the region of this connection point. In the case of this manner of construction, the end edge of the outer-hood border region is free, i.e. it does not have a direct connection to the inner hood. This enables the outer hood to expand more easily in its border regions. The selected connection point in conjunction with the predetermined breaking point produces a kinematic arrangement which inevitably causes the outer-hood border regions to expand when a pedestrian impacts against them.
In a particularly advantageous development of certain preferred embodiments of the invention, the border region of the inner hood can have at least one transverse web which extends between two adjacent connecting webs and is fastened by its lower end to the border region of the outer hood in the region of its end edge, and, outside the border region of the outer hood, emerges with its upper end from the inner hood. With the aid of a transverse web of this type, a forced adjustment is achieved for the end edge on the border region of the outer hood, the forced adjustment arising when the front hood is deformed due to a vertical action of force.
In the case of an alternative embodiment, the at least one connecting web can be fastened to the border region of the outer hood, in the region of its end edge, the at least one connecting web between the stiffening zone and the end edge being of longer design than a straight connecting line running through the stiffening zone and the end edge. This manner of construction enables the particular connecting web to be drawn out when the outer hood expands, this drawing-out process forcing a downwardly directed movement on the expansion movement of the outer hood. This enables a risk of injury to be reduced in the region of the expanding outer hood.
Further important features and advantages of the invention are set forth herein in the claims and the drawings and in the associated description of figures referring to the drawings.
It should be understood that the features mentioned above and those which have yet to be explained below can be used not only in the respectively specified combination, but also in other combinations or on their own without departing from the scope of the present invention.
Preferred exemplary embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the drawings and will be explained in greater detail in the following description.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.